Businesses pitch in to help protesters

Local businesses have made it clear who they support in the monthlong Market Basket executive standoff: the employees demanding the return of ousted CEO Arthur T. Demoulas.

The support has taken many forms, even if the businesses' workers can't stand side by side at rallies with Market Basket employees who have walked off the job or been fired.

Businesses have bought hundreds of pizzas and had them delivered to rallies. They've offered doughnuts, coffee and even discount coupons to sign-waving Market Basket workers.

The Lowell Spinners baseball team has also got involved. The Boston Red Sox Single A affiliate is offering tickets for Thursday's game to Market Basket workers for $4, in honor of the 4-percent discount on groceries the company has given this year.

It doesn't stop there. The Mexican restaurant chain Margarita's is extending its own employee discount of half off any meal to Market Basket workers. The Club, a fitness center in downtown Lowell, has offered a free membership until Oct. 1 for anyone showing a Market Basket pay stub. Concetta's Closet, a women's clothing store in Portsmouth, N.H., is also offering half-off until the worker protests end.

"It shows us that they think that we're doing the right thing. We're not in it for selfish reasons," said Tom Trainor, a Market Basket worker fired last month after he spoke out against the company that fired Demoulas in June. "We want to bring Arthur T. back to save this company, and all the customers benefited from it, and the vendors benefitted from it.

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"It's just a good family business," he added, "and no one wants to see that go."

The list of companies helping out continues to grow. They are North End Diner and Pizzeria and Wicked Cheesy, both in Tewksbury, and the Gingerbread Construction Company, a bakery that gave 40 boxes of muffins to feed Arthur T. supporters, Trainor said. The Alamo, a Mexican restaurant in Milford and a Market Basket vendor, has also donated food, he said.

Margarita's executives came up with the 50 percent discount idea when discussing the effect of the grocery chain's crisis on the community, said Dan Lederer, a Margarita's marketing team member.

"We know it's affecting our communities and not to be on either side of the story, but we know there are some people in need," Lederer said. "When the crisis is over is when we'll end it."

The Portsmouth, N.H.,-based chain has Massachusetts locations north of Boston in Medford and Revere and New Hamsphire locations in many of the state's largest communities, including Manchester, Nashua, Concord and Salem.

The Club, a fitness center on Middlesex Street in Lowell, has already seen several Market Basket workers take advantage of the free membership offer.

"We understand that your funds are probably low and stress is at an all time high. We want to give back to show our support," the club's flyer says. "No strings attached, just the chance to work off the stress."

Dana Hanson, owner of Concetta's Closet, said she is a regular Market Basket customer who knows a lot of young workers in the nearby Epping, N.H., store.

"I thought to myself, gosh, these kids aren't in a union and have a hard enough time to get a job these days," she said, adding that a few have taken advantage of the 50 percent discount so far. "I hope something gets resolved, obviously."

The Spinners will hold an "Artie T. Party" Thursday, giving discounted tickets to Market Basket employees. But they said they're not picking sides in the saga.

"It's not about who's right and who's wrong," team president and general manager Tim Bawmann said in a statement. "This is about recognizing the role Market Basket plays in our community and the invaluable role the associates play within our community. This is about giving them a night to relax, enjoy a ballgame and be entertained."

Tickets for Market Basket workers who show their ID badge will be reduced to $4. The workers will also be invited to participate in a pre-game parade around the field, the team said.

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